Buzz Blog

The Graphic Novel Club

Keeping
with the comic book theme this week, a lot of people have gotten into
the habit of buying complete graphic novels. If you like most readers you
tend to head into your local shop and buy the latest issue every
month. But for those who either can't afford the monthly upkeep or
have the patience to wait, the hardbound edition is the best way to
go for select readers. Compounding 6-8 issues into a single book,
making it more of a complete book than a series. And its because that trend
has become popular that a brand new club started up in support of
it.

--- The Graphic Novel Club kicked off earlier this year at the
Main Library, bringing in people who wanted to explore specific titles
with the same passion and expansive thought others would take to
literary greats, with material both famous and unknown. We got a
chance to chat with the club's authority figure, Rachel Getts, about
the club and the books they've been checking out, and info for those of you interested in joining. Plus her thoughts
on comics in general.

Rachel:
I grew up here in SLC, and then after various life detours went to
the University of Utah studying Film and English.

Gavin:
How did you first take an interest in comics and what were some of
your favorite titles growing up?

Rachel:
I read comic strips in the Sunday paper. I was a big fan of the
comic strip Garfield, Doonesbury, and The Far Side. Unfortunately
there wasn’t a comic store near where I lived so I could only pick
up what I saw at the 7-11. Their selection was terrible and spotty.
I didn’t really get serious about it until the early 90s with
"X-Men" and "Batman: The Animated Series". Those were
awesome and I wanted to be a comic geek. Unfortunately then the
companies went through a big collapse and the direct market began.
With no comic shop near me to shop at, no internet, and no money, I
had to move on to other interests. When I started working at the
library I took a keen interest in the graphic novels and I’ve
become the comic geek I always wanted to be.

Gavin:
What made you want to work for the Main Library, and how was it for
you getting employed and working your way up?

Rachel:
My mom is a librarian, and has been for almost thirty years. I grew up
in libraries. So after spending my early-to-mid twenties wandering
in the job wilderness, I decided that a career helping people was a
cool idea. So I started out as a volunteer and just kept applying
for every position that opened. In order to get a job in the library
system you have to be persistent. It’s not easy. But I kept
working hard, improving my skills and knowledge, and didn’t give
up. I’ve grown to love the fact that librarianship, and libraries
in general, are about public service. Helping people is a great
feeling.

Gavin:
How did the idea for the Graphic Novel Club come about?

Rachel:
Actually it was first proposed to me by Mary Anne Heider, who is in
charge of selecting young adult books and graphic novels. She
recruited me to develop it with her in November 2009. We saw that graphic novels are insanely popular with patrons of all ages. I
think that a major part of the fun is being able to talk about graphic novels with other readers or fans. Personally I thought it
would be great to be able to meet with a group and talk about books
and characters I love. The library is a natural vehicle for a club
such as this because we have the space and the books. Unfortunately
because of shifting responsibilities Mary Anne had to drop out and I
took over. I then recruited Isabelle Roehrig to join me and here we
are.

Gavin:
What did the library staff think of your proposal? And was there any
hesitation over the content?

Rachel:
Those of us on staff who are graphic novel readers and fans were
ridiculously excited. Everyone else was pretty ambivalent. Nobody
has mentioned any hesitation over content since we focus mainly on
patrons who are 18 and over.

Gavin:
What are the guidelines for the club and the kind of topics you'll
discuss?

Rachel:
Based on suggestions Isabelle and I pick a book to discuss. It can
be an original graphic novel, or two volumes of a series. The only
real guidelines are that the book be in print and available at the
library. So we all read the book and then talk about it. We’ve
had some pretty wide-ranging discussions, but we try to keep things
positive and fun.

Gavin:
When you kicked off, what was the first title you
chose, and why?

Rachel: Our first meeting was in
February where we talked about the first two volumes of Y: The
Last Man. Ever since then we’ve met bi-monthly, where we’ve
discussed Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Fables Vol. 1
& 2. August 28 will be our fourth meeting, and we’ll be talking about Alan Moore’s classic
V For Vendetta. Everyone, including myself, wanted to do an
Alan Moore book. He’s the most amazing legend/sorcerer/genius of
comics. Of course the first thought was to do Watchmen, but
after last year I’m a little “watchmen”-ed out. So then I saw
that Guy Fawkes Day was November 5th, which is pretty close to our meeting
date. V For Vendetta features a character who takes up a Guy
Fawkes mask in order to battle a fascist government. Seemed like a
ripe book for discussion so I went with V for Vendetta.

Gavin:
Are there any plans to invite guests down the road who had a hand in
these books?

Rachel:
That’d be awesome. We’re hoping to partner with some local
organizations to coordinate either author events, like we recently
had with Dark Horse writer/editor Scott Allie, or teleconference
opportunities.

Gavin:
Will you be including locally produced works as well, or sticking
mainly to major titles?

Rachel:
I hope we get to talk and meet with local artists and authors.
We’ve already reached out to local artists such as Brady Canfield
through our Facebook page.

Gavin:
Talking comics for a bit, what's your take on the comic book
industry as it stands right now, both good and bad?

Rachel:
I am a bit worried about the saturation of comic book movies. So
many new series seem to be developed just to get a movie deal. Such
was the case with Kick-Ass. But for every "Dark Knight" we get a lame
movie like "Jonah Hex". That movie could've been awesome. I believe
that the fad of comic book movies will all depend on next year’s
Green Lantern and Thor. From what I’ve seen I think "Thor" looks
awesome. Marvel seems to have the right plan. Geoff Johns will
bring more of that to DC’s movie properties. I love, love, love
some of the innovative choices that DC comics have made over the last
year. Developing the Batman line, making Dick Grayson Batman,
Detective Comics Batwoman, signing up artist/writer Jeff Lemire, and
Darkest Night were all great. On the Marvel side Fantastic Four has
become one of my favorite books due to the magic of new writer
Jonathon Hickman. It’s a fun book that has been totally
revitalized by a super-smart writer.

Gavin:
What are some of your favorite series in print right now?

Rachel:
In my opinion the best series in print right now is The Walking
Dead. It’s been consistently good for 75 issues. That’s five
years! And once you think that everything’s going to be fine with
these characters then something horribly awful happens. It’s so
great. Also I’d like to throw in a shout out to Detective Comics'
Batwoman which was my favorite series last year and this year.
I can’t wait for it to come back.

Gavin:
Where do you see the state of comics over the next couple of
years?

Rachel:
Right now the comic book industry is seeing a major shift toward
digital comics. I can see the end of the single-issue monthly comic
in the next 5-10 years. That makes me kind of sad, but I totally get
it. I’m one of those people who like to hold the book in my hand
rather than read it off a screen. However, digital comics will
drastically change distribution and hopefully bring more fans to the
hobby. It also doesn’t help that they keep raising the prices of
comics to $3.99. That’s no good.

Gavin:
Going local, what is your take on the current local comic scene and
the titles coming out of it?

Rachel:
There are some great titles coming out of the region like Wombat.
It’s primarily family-based which comes along with the territory I
suppose. I’d like to see more innovative underground comics like
we’ve seen with zines here in Salt Lake City.

Gavin:
Who are some local artists and writers should people check
out?

Rachel:
Ryan Ottley’s work is amazing. He’s been killing it on
Invincible for years now. Also Bill Galvan, who works for Bongo
Comics on titles such as The Simpsons. He also does Archie. With the
internet and digital artwork becoming the norm in the comic’s
production industry I think that you no longer have to move to NYC to
get into the comic industry.

Gavin:
What can we expect from you and the club over the rest of the
year?

Rachel:
First of all we’ll be meeting on August 28th to discuss V for
Vendetta. Then we’ll be meeting to talk about The Walking Dead
vol. 1 & 2 on Oct. 30th. That will be awesome. Right now we’re
in the planning stages for some cool fun events in November and
December. You can keep track of everything we’ve got going on at
our Facebook page by friending us.

Gavin:
Aside the obvious, is there anything you'd like to plug or
promote?

Rachel:
If there’s anyone out there who believes that graphic novels or
comics aren’t for them then I urge you to come down to the library
and talk to me or pick up a book list and check it out. I think one
of the great things about graphic novels or comics is the wide
variety that the genre encompasses. I really do believe that there’s
a graphic novel for everyone. If you have any questions please feel
free to email me at thegraphicnovelclub@gmail.com.
I love meeting with people and discussing books.